Puppet MastersS


Windsock

Trump hasn't ruled out recognizing Russia's 'annexation' of Crimea


RFE/RL
Fri, 29 Jun 2018 23:09 UTC
PutinTrump
© Getty/Worldpost IllustrationPresidents Trump and Putin
U.S. President Donald Trump has declined to rule out recognizing Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula only days ahead of a planned summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Asked by reporters at the White House late on June 29 whether reports about him dropping Washington's longstanding opposition to the annexation were true, Trump said: "We're going to have to see."

News reports have cited European leaders as saying that Trump argued privately at a recent Group of Seven summit that Crimea should be part of Russia because most of the people there speak Russian as their primary language.

Trump while campaigning for the presidency in 2016 also refused to rule out recognizing Russia's 2014 land grab as he vowed repeatedly to improve U.S. ties with Moscow.

Comment: The people of Crimea voted to rejoin Russia. It was not annexed

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X

Historic moment: The US has given up on the overthrow of Assad in Syria

Robert Fisk
Independent
Wed, 27 Jun 2018 00:00 UTC
Assad
© UnknownPresident of Syria, Bashar Al Assad
It will be called the great betrayal. And it was a long time coming. But the grim message from Washington to the anti-Assad fighters of southern Syria - that they could expect no help from the West in their further struggle against Assad's regime or the Russians - will one day figure in the history books. It's a turning point in the Syria war, a shameful betrayal if you happen to belong to the wreckage of the "Free Syrian Army" and its acolytes around the city of Deraa, and a further victory for the Assad regime in its ambition to retake all of rebel Syria.

Already Russian missiles and Syrian bombs are embracing the countryside south and east of Deraa and outside Quneitra and Sweida after the opposition fighters refused a negotiated peace last week. Refugees are again fleeing the towns. But the words of the American message to the fighters, seen by Reuters and so far not denied by the US, are both bleak and hopeless:
"You should not base your decisions on the assumption or expectation of a military intervention by us ... We in the United States government understand the difficult conditions you are facing and still advise the Russians and the Syrian regime not to undertake a military measure that violates the [de-escalation] zone."
When Washington "understands the difficult conditions" its militia allies are facing and says it "advises" the Russians and Syrians not to violate a ceasefire - which was Moscow's idea in the first place - you know that the Americans are pulling the carpet from beneath another set of allies.

Comment: Confirmation? Decisions may be heading that way, but it isn't over until they unequivocally pronounce it is over. That the US would screw over the Kurds has always loomed on the horizon as the final decision, despite Israel's grand scheme.
See also:

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Attention

Harper blindsides Trudeau PMO with plans to visit White House

Rachel Aiello
CTV News
Wed, 27 Jun 2018 10:00 UTC
TrudeauHarper
© Maclean'sPM Trudeau • former PM Harper
Former prime minister Stephen Harper is planning a trip to the White House next week, and hasn't notified the current Canadian government of his visit, CTV News has learned.

According to emails obtained by CTV News, American officials are expecting Harper to visit D.C. on July 2, the day after Canada's retaliatory tariffs on imports of U.S. goods and American-made steel and aluminum are set to come into effect.

It is unclear what the purpose of Harper's visit is, and how long it has been in the works, but officials say he is planning to meet with American National Security Adviser John Bolton, who was the U.S. ambassador to the UN when Harper was prime minister. It is possible that Harper could also be meeting with Larry Kudlow, Trump's economic adviser.

In planning his visit, the former prime minister has effectively blindsided the current Canadian government, bucking convention by not notifying Prime Minister Justin Trudeau or his office about the visit. Harper also did not reach out to the Canadian embassy in D.C., Global Affairs Canada, or the Privy Council Office.
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MIB

Feds keeping 'unverified' file on Loretta Lynch and Clinton email scandal under wraps

Paul Sperry
RealClearInvestigations
Tue, 26 Jun 2018 17:35 UTC
Loretta Lynch
© Associated PressFormer Attorney General Loretta Lynch
The FBI had little problem leaking "unverified" dirt from Russian sources on Donald Trump and his campaign aides - and even basing FISA wiretaps on it. But according to the Justice Department's inspector general, the bureau is refusing to allow even members of Congress with top security clearance to see intercepted material alleging political interference by President Obama's attorney general, Loretta Lynch.

That material - which has been outlined in press reports - consists of unverified accounts intercepted from putative Russian sources in which the head of the Democratic National Committee allegedly implicates the Hillary Clinton campaign and Lynch in a secret deal to fix the Clinton email investigation.

Comment:

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Star of David

For Israel's sake, the US is withdrawing from the world

Philip M. Giraldi
The Strategic Culture Foundation
Tue, 26 Jun 2018 16:59 UTC
hipster statue of liberty
© Max Pixel/CC0
The United States has decided to no longer participate in the United Nations 47-member Human Rights Council (UNHRC). The number one reason cited by U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley was that the council is unfairly critically focused on Israel. The United States had already left the U.N.'s cultural organization UNESCO last October, the last straw reportedly being when the organization named the city of Hebron on the West Bank a Palestinian World Heritage site, which Israel declared to be unacceptable. At that time, the number one reason cited by Haley for the withdrawal was that the organization was too critical of Israel.

Haley has also made a number of other comments relating to the United Nations and Israel. Immediately upon taking office she complained that "nowhere has the U.N.'s failure been more consistent and more outrageous than in its bias against our close ally Israel" and vowed that the "days of Israel bashing are over." In February 2017, she blocked the appointment of former Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad to a diplomatic position at the United Nations because he is a Palestinian. In a congressional hearing she was asked about the decision: "Is it this administration's position that support for Israel and support for the appointment of a well-qualified individual of Palestinian nationality to an appointment at the U.N. are mutually exclusive?" Haley responded yes, that the administration is "supporting Israel" by blocking every Palestinian.

Comment:

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Light Saber

Re. Jim Jordan to DAG Rosenstein: "We've caught you hiding information"

Cristina Laila
The Gateway Pundit
Thu, 28 Jun 2018 17:01 UTC
jim jordan
© ABC News
FBI Director Christopher Wray and DAG Rod Rosenstein are on Capitol Hill Thursday publicly testifying to House Republicans over the FBI and DOJ's mishandling of Hillary's email investigation and Spygate.

On Thursday, House Republicans held a vote and passed a resolution demanding the DOJ comply with requests to turn over classified Trump-Russia docs or face impeachment, contempt.

Rep. Jim Jordan slammed Rosenstein and reminded him the House was voting to pass a resolution giving him "seven days to get his act together."

Rosenstein was visibly uncomfortable as Jim Jordan put him on notice.

As soon as Rosenstein tried to push back, Jim Jordan yelled, "We've caught you hiding information!"

This was an intense exchange between Congressman Jordan and DAG Rosenstein.

Comment: See also:

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Info

Trump to discuss Syria, Ukraine, election meddling with Putin in July


TASS
Sat, 30 Jun 2018 16:15 UTC
PutinTrump
© Getty/Worldpost IllustrationPresidents Trump and Putin
US President Donald Trump told reporters he planned to discuss the situation in Syria and Ukraine, as well as Russia's alleged meddling in the US presidential vote with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin during their upcoming meeting.

"We're going to be talking about Ukraine, we're going to be talking about Syria, we're going to be talking about elections. We don't want anybody tampering with elections. We'll be talking about world events. We'll be talking about peace," he told reporters on board the presidential plane on the way to New Jersey.

"We may even talk about saving millions of dollars on weapons," he continued. "Perhaps the world can deescalate, with China, Russia... maybe the world can somewhat deescalate. That would not be a bad thing. But I think having a relationship with China, Russia... it's a good thing."

When asked whether he planned to lift anti-Russian sanctions, Trump replied: "We'll see what Russia does. We're going to be talking to Russia about a lot of things."

Comment: Peace. What a concept! Someone tell the American establishment to get out their dictionaries; it's been so long since they used the word.

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USA

Ocasio-Cortez's mother says her daughter has presidential ambitions

Georgett Roberts and Joe Tacopino
New York Post
Wed, 27 Jun 2018 16:08 UTC
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
© AP
Insurgent Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wants to take her budding political career all the way to The White House, her mother told The Post on Wednesday.

"Her aspiration is to be the president," Blanca Ocasio-Cortez, 55, said at the candidate's childhood home in the Bronx.

"She has been thinking about politics since she was a teenager. She would read historical and political books old and new. She would engage in political discussions passionately."

Blanca, a secretary for a school in Florida, spent a few days campaigning with her daughter. She said Ocasio-Cortez's upset victory over Congressman Joe Crowley was like "fighting Goliath."

"It's just incredible," the proud mom said. "I believe she would do it but so soon - it was shocking."

Blanca discussed how the family struggled to make ends meet and explained her 28-year-old daughter's appeal as a candidate.

"She is fighting for our community," Blanca said. "She is fighting for the working class. She is fighting for immigrants.

Comment: More on Ocasio-Cortez and her recent defeat of Crowley:

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Map

Russia squeezing West out of Africa without a fight

Evgeny Krutikov
The Saker
Tue, 19 Jun 2018 15:41 UTC
touadera putin
Mozambique's Faustin-Archange Touadéra with Putin
The Central African Republic "is captured by Russian mercenaries". Mozambique "relaunches" relations with Russia and considers the list of weapons that it wants to receive. The Democratic Republic of the Congo suggests to Russia to "enter" into military cooperation. Somewhere far away negotiations on building a Russian military base in Djibouti are being conducted.

These aren't the paranoid headlines of the BBC or CNN. This is the reality of the last two months. It isn't so close to our public as, say, the events in Kiev, and remains somewhere on the periphery of attention. But our American and European partners were already seriously disturbed by the "Russian invasion" of Black Africa, which in terms of geographical coverage already exceeds the memorable times of the peak of Soviet influence. And it is being built on a completely different principle.

The West started to become very nervous after March 30th, when in the Central African Republic (CAR) the second anniversary of the election to the presidency of Faustin-Archange Touadéra was celebrated (at the stadium in the capital of Bangui). The President arrived to a stadium that was once upon a time built by the French accompanied by suspiciously white protection dressed in camouflage without markings. Formally the protection of such events had to be provided by Rwandans from the remnants of the peacekeeping forces of the UN in the CAR. But a week before this earlier unknown, but well armed and organised white people replaced Rwandan patrols on the city streets.
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Black Cat

Presiding judge opines: 'Even a blind person' can see Mueller using Manafort charges to 'target' Trump

Rowan Scarborough
The Washington Times
Thu, 28 Jun 2018 15:00 UTC
Manafort Mueller
Trump's ex-campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, appeals jailing, civil case against Mueller

A federal judge says "even a blind person" can see that special counsel Robert Mueller is prosecuting Paul Manafort as a way to acquire evidence against his "true target," President Trump.

U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III made the comment in an opinion released this week that nonetheless sided with Mr. Mueller and against Mr. Trump's former campaign manager. He rejected Mr. Manafort's argument that the Mueller-brought tax-evasion indictment exceeded the special counsel's authority and should be dismissed.

Judge Ellis, sitting in the Eastern District of Virginia, expressed dismay at the special counsel system and at Mr. Mueller in particular.

Comment: Are Mueller's tactics regarding a CYA maneuver?

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